Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Rønne-ing the Pony

Since our evening at the Eurovision Jury Final last night kept us up late, we wanted to keep it close to home for dinner Saturday. That way we could walk over to one of the many public viewing spots being set up by the city all over Copenhagen. A few minutes walk from our great apartment in the Vesterbro was the 26-seat restaurant called PONY.

The chef and the owner of PONY are both from Bornholm, which is an island off the southern coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea. They ensure that their ingredients bring the unique flavors of the island into the food that they cook at the restaurant. Their attention to these details are obvious in the way they have constructed and present their small but scrumptious menu. We had the option of ordering smaller dishes from the daily menu, but opted for a 4-course taster, so that we could get the full range of the tastes of PONY.

Instead of wine, Keith and I started with a dark Bronholm brewed ale, Jeff decided to try the Rhubarb soda and John went with water. I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture of the Rhubarb soda as it made the rounds around the table, along with the crazy good whole wheat and oat bread (served with butter made from buttermilk). But here's what my ale looked like:

Our seafood starter was a brill, cucumber, radish and smoked egg creme served with an incredible spelt cracker. Words can do it no justice, so I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Next came the dish I felt a bit conflicted about eating. I rarely get near veal because of the source of the meat, and this dish's description as a tartare made me feel guilt for a split second. But then it arrived: Veal Tartare with mushrooms, super crispy rye bread crumbs and a dab of cream (I think it was creme fraiche). Needless to say, all the plates were clean within a few minutes of this picture:

Next came our main course of braised Ox Tail, withe celeriac, carrots and parsley in a bouillon.

At this point, we knew that the desert that was coming our way, was going to be just as fantastic as the three courses preceding it. We were not disappointed and I dare say, this may have been the best dish and the highlight of dinner. Meet the creme fraiche ice cream atop a baked apple puree, almond cookies all topped off with an apple vinegar syrup. I may be proposing to this concoction later tonight...

Now we're off to watch the Eurovision finale at Copenhagen City Hall's public square with a bunch of other fans from all over the world.